1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to an optical disk polishing device, and more particularly to a process and apparatus for resurfacing an optical disk without damaging the data contained thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the past decade, optical disks have become the most widely used median for storing acoustic, video and audio-visual data for both consumers and manufacturers. This wide use can be seen in both stationary and portable devices. With the portable devices, it is not uncommon that the optical disk may be exposed to relatively harsh environments. In particular, the compact disk (CDxe2x80x9d) or Digital Versatile Disk (xe2x80x9cDVDxe2x80x9d) may be exposed to water, dust, or contaminates such as food and beverages. In addition, media for portable devices are more likely to be carried in shirt pockets, briefcases, backpacks, purses, and automotive compartments where a foreign object may reside unknowingly that could damage or scratch the media. Damaged optical disk""s typically result in audible corruption or hinder a portion or all of the media""s contents.
The CD and DVD are made from a rigid material having a diameter of either 80 or 120 mm, respectively. In addition, most optical disks are provided with a substrate to protect the recording layer and integrity of the data contained on the disk. However, it can be easily damaged if scratched or exposed to the various contaminates described above. If the recording surface is scratched, stained or otherwise undesirably affected, its appearance is impaired and pieces of information recorded in that area are unlikely to be read out and reproduced correctly by a disk drive for doing the same. Many optical disk Players take advantage of Error Correction Code (ECC) to recover missing bits, or data, not readable by the laser of the CD Player/CD-ROM Player. However, ECC is not always successful correcting imperfections. In many cases the damage resides in critical areas on an optical disk or the damage to the disc may be too great for recovery. To cope with this problem, stains and the like may be typically removed by hand using a cloth, but scratches, indentures and physical defects must be removed by a mechanical disk-cleaning device.
The manual operation is laborious and time-consuming and, as stated above, has a drawback in that scratches, stains or the like may not be removed satisfactorily. In particular, in a secondhand CD shop, CD-rental agency, library or the like which has a large number of disks, which are lent or rented out frequently, much labor is unavoidable in removing scratches, stains or the like from disks. Similarly, some cases may involve proprietary data/audio information, not available in secondhand resources. This also proves true for recorded information on CD-R and CD-RW media, where much of the information compiled is not available by other means. Accordingly, it is strongly desired instead to remove scratches, stains or the like mechanically and automatically with a disk cleaner or polisher.
To meet such a demand, various disk cleaning systems have been proposed, however, very few are without problems. For example, a typical disk cleaner provides a cylindrical scouring member, such as a polishing pad, that is rotated in one direction while the disk to be cleaned is rotated in an opposite direction. If the cylindricality of the scouring member and the parallelism thereof with the side of the disk being scoured are not precisely maintained, undulations and the like are likely to result in the surface of the disk.
With the same or other disk-cleaning device, the problem with the cleaning process may involve how easy it is to properly remove the damage. It is desirable for a disk cleaner to provide both a scouring member for abrasion (for removal of a scratch) and a scouring member for polishing (for lubrication, for finishing). However, in many known disk cleaners, only one scouring member can be pressed against the disk. Accordingly, there is a disadvantage in that replacement is frequently required between the scouring member for scratch removal and the scouring member for polishing.
Another problem that is common among known disk cleaners involves the force applied by the polishing pad to the disk. If the pressing force of the scouring member on the disk cannot be adjusted, the optimal pressing force may not be maintained as the scouring members become worn or deformed by the scouring operation. As a result, a scratch or stain may not be satisfactorily removed.
Lastly, many of today""s disk cleaning devices are simply awkward to use, unreliable and inefficient during certain operations. This is typically apparent with systems that rely on numerous interactive parts during an operation. Therefore, the placement or removal of a disk or the replacement of the scouring member may be time consuming or cumbersome, or the system may experience part failures that may or may not be repairable.
Given the growing use of optical disks, particularly with a portable device where the likelihood of scratching a disk is very high, it would be advantageous to provide a resurfacing device that could be readily used by anyone from a single consumer to an optical disk manufacturing plant. In turn, it would be advantageous to provide a resurfacing device that is lightweight, durable and easy to use.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing, the above problems typically found with conventional disk polishing devices.
In one aspect of the present invention, a system is provided for cleaning and polishing an optical disk. The system comprises a tray having a circular floor and a perimeter wall; an armature having at least two circular pads being rotatably coupled to the armature; and a mechanism for rotating the armature parallel to the floor and about a central axis of the wall being perpendicular to the floor. The mechanism rotates the armature in a first direction, which in turn rotates each pad in a second direction to clean and/or polish the optical disk.
In another aspect of the present invention, a system is provided for cleaning an optical disk cleaning system. The system provides a tray having a floor and a perimeter wall, and a cleaning mechanism having an armature, at least two pads and a central post. The mechanism rotates the armature about the central post in a first direction to force the rotation of the at least two pads in a second direction.
In still another aspect of the instant invention, a method is provided for cleaning and polishing an optical disk being contained by a circular tray having a perimeter wall. The process includes the steps of centrally positioning an armature having at least two pads within the tray such that a side portion of each pad contacts the wall and a bottom surface of each pad contacts the optical disk; and rotating the armature about a central axis of the tray in a first direction to rotate the at least two pads in a second direction.